pumpkin

Definition of pumpkin

1 a:a fruit of any of various cultivars of herbaceous plants (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. mixta synonym C. argyrosperma) of the gourd family that is typically round and orange but may be another color or shape, that has a hard usually smooth skin with shallow longitudinal grooves, and that is grown for ornamental use or for its fibrous pale flesh used especially in baking or as feed for livestock

b:any of several annual chiefly trailing American plants that bear pumpkins

DOVER, Del. — Organizers of a popular pumpkin-flinging competition in Delaware have canceled this year’s event following the filing of a federal lawsuit by a woman who was critically injured at last year’s event.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pumpkin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pumpkin

alteration of earlier pumpion, modification of French popon, pompon melon, pumpkin, from Latin pepon-, pepo, from Greek pepōn, from pepōn ripened; akin to Greek pessein to cook, ripen — more at cook